Real Techniques Sculpting Brush Review ♥

Hey beaut's!

Being the massive Real Techniques fan that I am I've taken it upon myself to try and collect every brush that Pixiwoo's Sam and Nic Chapman release. I've been lusting after their new Sculpting Brush for a while now and have featured it in numerous wish list post's over the last couple of months or so, so I'm super happy that I finally have it my life to review for you all today.
The Real Techniques Sculpting Brush* (£9.99) is going to be a contour lovers dream, it's been made especially to help accentuate bone structure and enhance facial features for that contoured, defined look. The bristles of the Sculpting Brush are quite dense and are shaped into a narrow oval shape, this makes it so effective for contouring as it fits right into the hollows of the cheek, around the jaw line and down the sides of the nose perfectly. Like most Real Techniques brushes the Sculpting Brush can be used in multiple ways, I've personally been using it mostly for foundation application and have been obsessed with the results. It leaves the same finish on the skin as the Real Techniques Buffing Brush does when used with liquid foundation and is so easy to blend with and really gets in those harder to reach areas because of it's shape. Contouring is something I'm only just getting really into and I find the Sculpting brush really does make this easier for me, I'd highly recommend this brush to any beginners in the contouring world like myself.
The Sculpting Brush is actually from the ‘Your Finish’ collection of Real Techniques brushes which all sport the pink the light weight aluminium handles, and also has a nice sturdy rubberised part at the bottom of the brush for easy grip and allows the brush to stand up by itself for easy storage. Like all Real Techniques Brushes the Sculpting Brush has super soft, hand cut. ultra plush synthetic taklon bristles which can be used with cream, liquid and powder products and are all 100% cruelty free which is a major plus. 
Overall I'm in absolute love with the Sculpting Brush and it's quickly become one of my all time favourites from Real Techniques, I've even just bought the Limited Edition Sculpting Set from Superdrug because I love this brush so much and not only wanted another one but wanted the other brushes in the sculpting collection too. You really cant beat Real Techniques brushes for price and quality can you, they are such reliable brushes that always perform brilliantly and wash up as good as new.

Have you bought the Sculpting Brush yet beaut's?? What did you think?? I'd love to know!!

nopin

May Degustabox Review + Discount Code

Hey beaut's!

I have a subscription box review for you all today but it's a subscription box with a difference.... it contains yummy food and drink, so say hello to Degustabox*. Degustabox works very much like how beauty subscription boxes work, for £12.99 a month (postage included within the £12.99 price) you will receive 9 to 14 surprise food/drink products, many that are completely new to the market! So if your abit of a foodie like myself  and you love subscription boxes your going to love this beaut's!

 Anywhooo onto what yummy treats I received in my May Degustabox...

Sweet Baby Ray's Honey Barbecue Sauce £2.99
I'm obsessed with BBQ Sauce and I have to say this one by Sweet Baby Ray's is amazing!!! It has a sweet and smokey blend which is so tasty and it's ideal for using as either a marinade for your meat or just as a dipping sauce for your chips and wedges. 

Schwartz Marinade In A Bag £2.19
I love the idea of these Schwartz Marinade In A Bag, it's just so easy to use and creates no mess at all. All you have to do is pop your meat or fish into the bag for 30 minutes and then it will be ready to sizzle in the oven or BBQ! Their are 6 yummy flavours to choose from but I received Honey & Soy flavour which I cant wait to use as I imagine it will make all the meat sticky and just delish!

9 Bar 'Fruity' £2.00
9 Bars are something I'm quite familiar with because I buy them alot when grocerie shopping, they are amazing if your like me and love to snack throughout the day but don't want to eat rubbish that's really bad for you. The 'Fruity' is stacked with nutritious seeds, dried apricots and dates and is then topped with carob which is used as a substitute for chocolate but tastes just the same, yum!

Daelmans Stroopwafels £2.00
Wow these waffles are tasty! They have the most amazing creamy, caramel filling and taste the best when they have been warmed for a minute or two over a hot beverage. If you like sweet waffles and caramel sauce you'll love these that's for sure. 

Fuel 10k Protibrick £2.69
The FUEL 10K Protibrick's are the first protein boosted wheat biscuits ever, they are high in fibre, low in both sugar and fat and are slightly bigger that your average wheat biscuits and have the ability to keep you feeling fuller which all sounds very good to me. After trying the FUEL 10K Protibrick's I have to say they taste extremely similar to wheatabix but did keep me feeling full, alot more so than when I eat regular wheatabix so I'm actually really impressed with these.

Green Coco Juice with Banana 80p
 I love banana's a fruit but I actually hate banana flavoured things so I wasn't really looking forward to giving this and try and actually I have to admit my taste buds absolutely hates this, uhhh it was yukky! However if you like banana flavoured drinks then this will be right up your street but for me personally I didn't enjoy this. 

Slim Pasta Lasagne £2.49
This Slim Pasta Lasagne is a low in calorie alternative to to regular lasagne that lets you savour your favourite lasagne dishes whilst keeping you on track for weight loss success. It's practicly free from everything and sounds bizarre but amazing all at the same time so I cant wait to try this and see if it's still really tasty.

Maggi So Stir Fry x2 £1.49
I'm always cooking Stir Fry's so this range of Maggi noodles goes down an absolute treat with me and both of these wont last in my house for long that for sure. Both flavours I received contain full recipe's of what other food you need to add to the noodles to make the perfect stir fry noodle dish which is always helpful and makes cooking dinner super quick and easy.

Sarsons Balsamic Vinegar £2.00
Balsamic vinegar is an essential for me because I love my salads so I always use it so it was nice to have another bottle to stock up in my cupboard, I find it just so useful for making yummy salad dressings and you can make homemade pesto with it to.

Overall I love Degustabox, I think it's such a great take on a subscription box, I love the whole element of a food surprise and getting excited about what meals or cakes I can whip together, it's fab! You can find Degustabox on Twitter and Facebook for more information, pictures and promotions. 

Degustabox have kindly given me a discount code for all of my beautiful readers, all you have to do is pop UGVO7 into the promotional code box and you'll receive a £3.00 discount when registering. And don't worry beaut's, theres no commitments with Degustabox meaning you can cancel your subscription free of charge before the 10th of any month, but I mean why would you cancel monthly surprise treats ha ha!

What do you think of the Degustabox concept beaut's?? I'd love to know your thoughts.

nopin

Meet my May 'Sparkling' Advertisers!

Hey beaut's!

 As we are nearing the end of May I thought it was about time that you lovely lot got to know my gorgeous May 'Sparkling' Advertisers a little bit more, hopefully you have seen their blogs sitting in my sidebar and have already had a cheeky little peek and found some great, new reading material... arrrhh I love finding new blogs to read, it's so inspiring and often sends me into wish list overdrive ha ha... Anyway enough of me rambling, let me introduce you all to my May Advertisers!

Hey there my name is Asia I'm 18 and I live in London and I write a blog called Asia Jade which is a lifestyle, beauty and fashion blog. I’ve been blogging for quite a while now which has flown by and I love every minute of it. I mostly write about lifestyle topics as they’re most interesting to me. In addition to this I also make youtube videos which have made me more confident in myself which has really opened up many doors for me. I try to upload a blog post every other day and I upload videos on Wednesdays and Sundays. I would love it if you checked my blog out and maybe even come along with me on this whole internet journey. Asia xx
My name is Cherry, I'm a 26-year-old Graduate PR Consultant by day and beauty blogger by night. I began CherryPieBlog as a platform to showcase my published and unpublished writing. It mainly featured CD and Gig reviews as that was what I specialised in at the time, but it has slowly developed into a general Fashion/Beauty blog.
I write for the blog in my spare time and see it as a hobby, where I can do what I love best...writing.
Blog | Twitter
Weight loss, life and all that jazz!
Hi, I'm Bex, a soon to be 28 year old from Manchester. My blog is all about my journey to healthy with chit chat thrown in. From reviews, hauls and make up must haves to clothes and films. I also have personal posts about my ups/downs and thoughts. Grab a brew, get comfy and enjoy this ride with me :D
Blog | Twitter

If you would like to come a join in on the fun and advertise with HaySparkle all details can be found HERE!

nopin

May Glossybox Review ♥

Hey beaut's!

So its that time again... Glossybox time!!! This month Glossybox have been getting into the Summer mood and have bought us a 'Summer's Calling' themed box with the promise of three full size products and two samples. I must admit I wasn't blown away by this months contents, but next months box is going to be festival and summer inspired apparently so I'm definitely going to stay subscribed so see what Junes box holds. 

 Anywhoo lets see what I received inside my May Glossybox...

MeMeMe Enchanted Eyes Dual Ended Eye Wand in Midnight Storm | Full Size | £6.95

Blue eyeliner is a key trend for Spring 2015 so this dual ended eyeshadow stick is all you need to achieve that look. One end of the eyeshadow stick is a deep metallic blue shade and the other is a metallic turquoise shade, both of which do contain some minute glitter sparkles but nothing too over the top. The texture and consistency of the eyeshadow stick is lovely,  its very light and creamy which can be blended without much difficulty at all. The only downside for me with this is that the shade is very wearable for me because I'm stuck in my neutral ways and would of loved it to have been gold or bronze, never the less I'll still give a go somehow as the formula seems gorgeous!

Collection Field Day Lipstick in Pink Rose | Full Size | £2.99
Collection recently launched their new Field Day range and I've been dying to try something from that range so I'm super happy to have one of the lipsticks to try. I received the shade 'Pink Rose' which is a gorgeous pastel pink shade with a matte finish, it's the perfect colour for daytime wear during Spring and I cant wait to start using it.

Etre Belle Aloe Vera Ultra Moisturising Gel | Full Size | £15.93
The Etre Belle Aloe Vera Ultra Moisturising Gel seems perfect for using in the summer months or whilst your away on holiday as it not only soothes the skin but cools and hydrates too. It has a watery gel consistency that's very easy to work with, all you have to do is apply a sufficient amount to face and neck in upwards motions and voila... You'll have soothed skin before you know it.

Zerreau Towel Off Shampoo Foam | Sample | £7.95  for Full Size
Now this sounds interesting and claims to be the next generation of dry shampoo, ohhhhh! The Zerreau Towel Off Shampoo is in foam form not a spray like usual dry shampoo's, to use all you have to do it pump out a generous amount of the foam onto your hand and then massage it in directly on your scalp to lift the dirt and grease, immediately remove the foam with a towel by using a towel drying motion. I have used the foam once so far and did like the results, it smelt lovely just like sweet apples and left my hair shiny and refreshed with no stickiness so I'm looking forward to working with this more. 

SASS Intimate Perfect Skin Concentrate | Sample | £12.00 for Full Size
The SASS Intimate Perfect Skin Concentrate is a skin treatment to use post-shave or post-wax to soothe the skin and reduce hair regrowth. It contains salicylic acid and fruit enzymes which delicately exfoliate to ensure ingrown hairs are a thing of the past. I love the sound of this product and cant wait to give it a go, anything to help prep my legs for exposure in the warmer months is good to me!

 What did you think of this month's box beaut's?? I'd love to know.
nopin

Yankee Candle 'Beach Holiday' Votive Review ♥

Hey beaut's!

Yankee Candle have recently launched lots of new scents for Spring and Summer 2015 so of course being the Yankee Candle lover that I am I just had to go and stock up. I quickly made my way over to my local garden centre which has a huge range of Yankee Candle's and found their Life's A Beach Collection and their Cafe Culture Collection, I picked up a few candles from each collection which I'll be reviewing over the next few weeks but today I have Beach Holiday (£1.80) to review for you all.

Beach Holiday is described as a clean, fresh scent of ocean air which is so real you can practically feel the salt spray, which I have to say is a pretty on point description. I must admit because of it's beachy theme I was expecting Beach Holiday to smell more like sun cream and coconut but actually it's very fresh and smells extremely 'beachy',  it's just like when you go to the beach and it has that particular sea air smell.... well that's exactly what Beach Holiday smells like, but with some added floral notes which makes it the most amazing fragrance that perfect for the Summer.

All the Yankee Candle votive/samplers claim to provides up to 15 hours of fragrance but personally I've found that Beach Holiday has lasted me so much longer because it kicks off such a strong scent, I literally only have to have Beach Holiday lit for around an hour and that's enough to fragrance my entire house which is amazing and such great value.

You can find the entire Life's A Beach Collection on the Yankee Candle Website with prices starting from £1.49 to £19.99. 

What's your favourite scent from Yankee Candle's new collections?? I'd love to know beaut's!!

nopin

Makeup Revolution 'Mermaids Forever' Eyeshadow Palette Review ♥

Hey beaut's!

Makeup Revolution seem to be constantly on fire with their amazing new launches... Their original revolutionary priced makeup line definitely proved popular with all of us makeup and beauty lovers and since then they've just gone from strength to strength releasing lots of gorgeous new makeup for us all to feast our eyes on and drool over ha ha. This time around Makeup Revolution have created a mesmerising palette named 'Mermaids Forever*' that contains 32 ultra professional eye shadows with a colourful, aquatic, mermaid theme that will only set you back an affordable £8.00, that works out at just 25p per eyeshadow, wowza!!
The 'Mermaids Forever' palette comes packaged in a shiny blue cardboard box which really reflects the shades that can be found inside the palette. The eye shadows their selves are placed inside Makeup Revolutions classic, large, glossy style packaging which comes complete with a good sized mirror inside which is always greatly appreciated. As I said before the 'Mermaids Forever' palette contains 32 eye shadows in total with a mixture of matte, shimmer and metallic finishes and is packed full of vibrancy and colour! I love how the eyeshadow pans in the palette are laid out, as you can see the first row in the palette has four shades of pearly, creams then you have the four shades or orange to play with going from light to dark, then four shades of pink again going from light to dark and then so on with the purples, blues, greens, bronzey/browns and the palette finishes with greys and blacks.
Now I know that this palette might to be for everyone because of it's brightness and colour but personally I think 'Mermaids Forvever' is a palette everyone should own because you've got all the colours you'd ever need in one palette. You could easily create daytime looks with this palette buy adding subtle pops of colour around different area's of the eyes, something I like to do in the Summer is add some colour smudged on my lower lash line, I find it's a great way to use colour if play a bit safe with your eyeshadow like I do he he.  
As always I don't really have any complaints on the eye shadow's quality, Makeup Revolution seem to make such amazing eye shadows don't they he he. Each eyeshadow within the 'Mermaids Forever' palette is packed full of pigmentation, especially the metallic/shimmer finish shadows and are all super soft to swatch, easy to work with and blend out a treat. I would suggest using the cream/ivory shades in the palette as shimmery highlights as they do appear quite sheer but work great at adding that gorgeous highlighted glow which I love. They eye shadows also last great on my oily eyelids without any creasing or fading most of the day, however I have been using Makeup Revolutions Aqua Seal-Primer as a base recently because my lids seem to get a lot more oily when the weathers warmer and more humid and it seems to work really well.
What do you think of the new Mermaids Forever palette beaut's?? I'd love to know!!

nopin

May Beauty Wishlist ♥

Hey beaut's!

It's that time again... I know, I know, I'm beauty/makeup wish list obsessed at the moment but theres always so many gorgeous looking bits that I want, plus the fact that I'm a makeup and beauty addict doesn't help either ha ha! Firstly I've been drawn towards lots of makeup new releases, Barry M seem to be on fire recently and have just launched a bunch of products that I'm eager to try, in particular I want to get my hands of their new Flawless Concealer and Blush Sticks, they both sound amazing and look super cute. Next we have MUA, they recently celebrated their 5th birthday and released their very own birthday eyeshadow palette, I saw some swatches of the shades within the palette on Instagram and the colours look stunning so I'm going to have to purchase that little beauty. Something else I'm now dying to get my hands on is the MAC Pro Longwear Foundation, I got a sample of this recently in my local MAC store and my goodness I'm in love and need the full size bottle in my life immediately he he. Something I was super excited to hear about this week is that the US luxury brand Makeup For Ever have launched here in the UK on the Debenhams website, I'm eager to try lots of makeup products from them so I just had to feature them on this months wish list post. I hope you like the things on my wish list beaut's, please let me know if you have any of them and what you think of them.
May Beauty Wishlist

Dissapointing Product Review | Barry M Sunset Nail Polishes

Hey beaut's!

 A few weeks ago when browsing in Superdrug I noticed Barry M had launched a brand new collection of nail polishes named the Sunset Daylight Curing Collection. Being the Barry M nail polish fan that I am I quickly popped one of the new nail polishes and the new top coat in my basket and couldn't wait to give them a go when I got home.
 So what is this new collection all about you might being wondering?? Well...Barry M’s new Sunset Daylight Curing Nail Paint's and Topcoat aim to deliver the look and reliance of pro salon gel nails without the need of a UV lamp or the expense! All you need is a Sunset colour, the Sunset Topcoat and around 2-5 minutes of natural daylight and your well on your way to getting long lasting, hi gloss, at home gel nails that last for up to 10 days. Barry M also claim that theres no need for a base coat with these new nail paints as the special formulation bonds to the nails like a gel and can still be removed with a regular remover, sounds pretty amazing right! So far theres seven summer appropriate shades in the Sunset collection, eight if your counting the top coat as well, each bottle will set you back £4.99 each which is Barry M's priciest nail paint to date but considering the collections claims that's to be expected.
On each bottle of Sunset nail paint Barry M have attached a little two step guide to assure you apply the polish correctly and that you get the most of out of the colours. Firstly it tells you to apply one thin layer of your chosen Sunset nail paint shade and allow to dry, once dry repeat with a second thin coat and again leave to dry. I opted for the shade Fuchsia Generation, a deep raspberry shade that I absolutely adored. Secondly Barry M tell you to apply a thin layer of the Sunset Top Coat and allow to dry naturally in daylight, then your nails will be completely cured leaving you with a pro mani effect. I followed all the steps and was really impressed at first, my nails looked gorgeously glossy, they felt hard wearing and the colour was beautiful, I honestly thought this was a genius idea from Barry M however.... On my second day of wear all of my nails on my right hand and a couple on my left hand had enormous chips, and because of the gel formula once I got a chip the nail paint just seemed to peel off  in big chunks and my nails looked horrendous, I was so gutted as I knew I had applied everything correctly and was expecting very good things from this collection, not to mention that I'd spent £10.00 on them too as they are £4.99 each.
Overall I have to admit I'm really disappointed with these, I love Barry M Nail Paints so much usually and never have any trouble with them so this really shocked me, I even went outside on a sunny day to cure my nails and they still chipped more or less instantly, it's such a shame!

I'd love to know how you beauties got on with this collection?? Please tell me I'm not the only one who's had the awful chipping incidents.

nopin

April Degustabox Review + Discount Code

Hey beaut's!

I have a subscription box review for you all today but it's a subscription box with a difference.... it contains yummy food and drink, so say hello to Degustabox*. Degustabox works very much like how beauty subscription boxes work, for £12.99 a month (postage included within the £12.99 price) you will receive 9 to 14 surprise food/drink products, many that are completely new to the market! So if your abit of a foodie like myself  and you love subscription boxes your going to love this beaut's!

 Anywhooo onto what yummy treats I received in my April 'International' themed Degustabox...
Barry's Tea £1.75
Barry's Tea is an Irish household favourite and being a huge lover of a good old cuppa myself this box of tea hasn't lasted very long in my house he he. Basically if your a tea drinker your going to love this tea.

Cirio Tomato Fillets £1.69 & Tomato Puree Pots £1.20
These are a household staple for me, I always use chopped tomato's and tomato puree as the base for sauces for Chilli's, Spaghetti Bolognese, Lasagne and many other dishes so these are an absolute win for me.

Kinder Choco-Bons and Chocolate with Crunch £1,55 each

These new products from Kinder are perfect little treats for kids (or adults he he) and because they are individually wrapped you can pop them in lunchboxes, put them in your car for an on the go sweet treat or you can indulge whilst having a movie night he he. I favoured the Choc-Bons personally, they really reminded me of those little Lindor chocolates that have the gooey, melted chocolate middle, mmm they where so yummy.

Debeukelaer Cookies Bakery £2.00
OH MY GOODNESS..... These where delicious! They are individually wrapped American style chocolate chip cookies that have creamy, gooey chocolate in the middle which tastes just like Nutella. They are a very naughty treat and full of calories but so worth it. 

Nando's Potato Chips x3 69p each
I think my favourite things in this months box where these Nando's Potato Chips, I adore Nando's and always cook with their marinades at home so having not one but three bags of their new groove cut potato chips to try made me very happy ha ha.

Schwartz Currie Powders x2 £1.08 each
I always use Schwartz sachets and flavour shots, they are just so quick and easy to use and add so much flavour so I'm really looking forward to whipping up a couple of super quick curry's with these.

Veetee Flavoured Rice x2 £1.49 each
Flavoured rice always go's down well in my house as I can use them in so many dishes, I always use them when I do my at home Nando's dishes, Fajitas and even when I'm having a jacket potato I love throwing lots of flavoured on top of it, so these little beauties well get eaten very quick. 

Kingfisher £2.00
 Kingfisher is India's No.1 selling beer all over the country and my boyfriend happens to always have this beer when we go to our local Indian restaurant so he quickly guzzled this down when the box arrived he he.

Scheckters Organic Energy Drink £1.35
Scheckters is an organic energy drink which is 100% natural, fair trade, vegetarian and contains ingredients such as lemon juice, elderberry juice, sparkling water, ginseng and green coffee flavour which all sound rather nice. I must admit I'm not a lover of energy drinks and never ever buy them however I will be trying this one out.

IdrinQ Original x2 £1.49
IdrinkQ is another energy drink and claims to help you think smarter and clearer which is rather interesting, so again I'll give this one a try soon and see what I think.

Overall I love Degustabox, I think it's such a great take on a subscription box, I love the whole element of a food surprise and getting excited about what meals or cakes I can whip together, it's fab! You can find Degustabox on Twitter and Facebook for more information, pictures and promotions. 

Degustabox have kindly given me a discount code for all of my beautiful readers, all you have to do is pop UGVO7 into the promotional code box and you'll receive a £3.00 discount when registering. And don't worry beaut's, theres no commitments with Degustabox meaning you can cancel your subscription free of charge before the 10th of any month, but I mean why would you cancel monthly surprise treats ha ha!
What do you think of the Degustabox concept beaut's?? I'd love to know your thoughts.

nopin